The Organist Holiday Special 2015

Robert Kensinger moved to L.A. in the late 70's. He was hoping to make it as a film director after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design. He stumbled into a job as a personal assistant to the legendary actor, writer, and director Orson Welles. Kensinger worked for Welles off and on for several years before he left to write scripts for indie producer Roger Corman. Then he carved out a long career as a set decorator on many studio films.

People tend to think of Orson Welles as inactive or diminished during those final years – living off Laurel Canyon on Wonderland Avenue, earning a living starring in wine commercials and making the rounds of TV talk shows. But Kensinger remembers the director of Citizen Kane as vital and alive, working hard as ever on projects including his last film, The Other Side of the Wind. It remains unfinished to this day.

We’re thrilled to unearth a classic story by legendary radio producer Scott Carrier, an inspiration for radio producers from Ira Glass to Jad Abumrad, which hasn’t been heard since it originally aired on All Things Considered in 1993.

CREDITS “The Drywall” was produced by Scott Carrier. David Weinberg interviewed Carrier and Ira Glass for The Organist.

Michael K. Williams (aka Omar from The Wire; Chalky from Boardwalk Empire) performs a short radio drama written by the lo-fi blues musician and writer Willis Earl Beal, based on Beal’s experiences as a “triple-fictional” security guard in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.